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Jake Busey's The Predator Character Has Ties to the Franchise

Jake Busey reveals that his character in Shane Black's The Predator shares a connection with other films in the franchise. As one of cinema's preeminent badass monsters, the Predator has understandably done battle with many recognizable actors. The most famous of those is of course the alien hunter's original opponent in the first movie: action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Predator's debut also saw him battle with future governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Carl "Apollo Creed" Weathers. Not to be outdone, Predator 2 then saw the titular creature tangle with Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover, as well as Aliens vet Bill Paxton.

One of the Predator's most sinister human enemies to date was also in Predator 2, that being Peter Keyes, a secret government agent on an undisclosed mission not to kill the monster but instead capture it. Played by Gary Busey, Keyes is a similar character in many ways to scheming corporate executive Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) in the aforementioned Aliens, although much more capable with a firearm.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Gary's son Jake Busey was set to carry on the family legacy by joining the cast of The Predator, the upcoming new installment in the storied franchise. The reboot is being helmed by Shane Black, who shares his own connection to the original 1987 film. At the time, details on the younger Busey's role was scarce, but in a recent interview with The Red Booth, the actor revealed an interesting tidbit: He's set to play the son of his dad's Predator 2 character. For the Buseys, the Predator is a family affair.

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Beyond the parentage of Jake Busey's Predator character though, it's still unknown exactly what function he'll serve in the plot of the new film. One assumes that Keyes' son might have grown up to also be a sinister government agent, one perhaps intent on avenging his father's death at the hands of the galaxy's most dedicated lethal sportsman. Then again, Black and co. could easily try to surprise fans by having this new Keyes behave a lot more honorably than his deceitful dad.

Having wrapped filming earlier this month, the time for the world to get reacquainted with Stan Winston's monstrous creation draws ever closer. With Busey confirming that his character is the son of Peter Keyes, that seems to confirm that Black's film -- often dubbed a reboot -- is in fact set within the established Predator continuity. It'll be interesting to see how all the various lingering franchise threads come together.